Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1887-05-06
BLOODY BATTLE AT DENVER.

Poles, Swedes AMI Hungarians, Inilamed
with Liquor. Fight With Desperation.
DENVER, Col, April IA bloody riot
occurred late last night between rival
Swede, Pole, and Hungarian colonies, at
Thirty fourth and Blake streets, which
resulted in the fatal shooting of one man,
and the serious wounding of several
others. 1t was only with the combined
efforts of the police force and patrol
wagons that the affair was prevented
from resulting in a Wholesale massacre.
The settlement where the riot occurred
is composed of twenty-five or thirty
families, who live in small one-story
tenament houses, not more than 1Ox2O
feet square, the men bring mostly en-
ployed in the smelters and foundries To-
Gated in the neighborhood. The melee
grew out of a long standing jealousy of
the settlements over a young foolish
woman, Alice Falka, who yesterday morn
ing left the settlement on South Side
street and spent the day with a rival
colony on the North Side. In honor of
her visit several kegs of beer were tapped
which caused frequent brawls during the
afternoon and until late in the evening,
when the mob were beastly intoxicated.
In house adjoining the one where
fifteen or twenty men were celebrating
the visit of the girl Mr.. and Mrs. Knaudo,
rivals of their neighbors, had prepared
for celebrating the christening of an s.
months-old child, and had invited
number of their friends, and
also laid in supply of beer,
garlic, and other delicacies of their race.
The Knando crowd reached an advanced
stage of intoxication by midnight, and
one party of them going on front of the
pavement at this hour accidentally met a
member from the other house, situated
not more than fifteen feet away. A
fight Immediately ensued. The Knando
crowd, reinforced from those inside,
drove their rivals into their den, when
the widest scene took place, chairs, tab
les, and bedsteads were broken up and
the pieces used as weapons to pound each
other over the head. Many were knocked
senseless and trampled under foot until
life was almost extinct. The plastering
was torn from the walls and every win
dow in the house smashed until it looked
like iG had been raked with grape and
canister. After bitter fight the Knaude
crowd were driven into their house, where
the same scene was enacted. Several
shots we're fired, and Polo named Ribo-
ritch was fatally shot and others seriously
wounded. The police in the neighbor-
hood attempted to quit the disturbance
and make arrests, but were driven away
by the mob. Reinforcement were sent
for to the Central Station, and a patrol
wagon Immediately responded. Twelve
policemen, armed with Winchesters, sur
rounded the houses. The mob at first
attempted to resist and made dash at
the officers, armed with clubs, knives, and
revolvers, but when they met the blue
coats ready to fire into them they fell back
and made little resistance, when part
were loaded into the wagon and driven
rapidly to the station. Several trips were
made by the patrol until nearly thirty
had been arrested and jailed. 1t is sup
posed that many escaped. But one or
two of the prisoners can speak English.
They are ragged, dirty, and spattered
with blood, and have the appearance of
the lowest type of humanity. Many of
them were sent to Denver a week ago di-
rect from Hungary, Poland, Bohemia, and
o.ker parts of Europe, and without doubt
belong to that class whose only argument
is dynamite and mob law.